WOODY CREEK DISTILLERS RYE
MASH BILL – 100% Colorado Elbon rye
PROOF – 90
AGE – NAS (minimum of 5 years per website)
DISTILLERY – Woody Creek Distillers
PRICE – Gifted to me! (msrp $50)
WORTH BUYING? – Had I, yes.
This bottle was gifted to me by a friend, who came across it—and actor William H. Macy—quite by accident.
My friend Kevin was making a routine stop at our local Total Wine & More, and found himself held up in the parking lot, waiting for a SUV to get out of the way. Eventually a man stepped out of the passenger side and walked between the back of the SUV and Kevin’s car to head into Total Wine. It was William H. Macy.
Inside, Kevin found a line of people waiting to meet Macy, who was there representing Woody Creek Distillers, the Colorado distillery with which he entered into a working relationship as their spokesman around 2023.
The event at Total Wine & More was set up so that people waited in line around the corner from the aisle where Macy was stationed. When it was your turn, you rounded the corner and then it was just you and Macy one-on-one, without pressure to rush the convo from the line of people waiting out of sight. Macy was very personable, introducing himself as Bill. Kevin shared that he had a friend—me—who is a whiskey fan and writes a blog. Macy jotted down the blog’s URL. Kevin bought a bottle of the rye for me and asked Macy to sign it.
When Kevin gifted me the bottle we were en route to a morning event at the theater company we both work with, so we weren’t able to open it then. When I got home later that afternoon I cracked it, gave it a try, and sent Kevin a pic with my thanks. I also put it to work in a Red Hook cocktail variation—2oz rye, 0.5oz Maraschino Liqueur, 0.25oz sweet vermouth, 0.25oz Scarlet Apertivo Bitter Liqueur, garnished with blood orange zest. Tasty!
William H. Macy moved to Woody Creek, Colorado, some years ago to escape the bustle and flashbulbs of Hollywood. He began frequenting Woody Creek Tavern, where he met and got to know the owners of the distillery. The first big event of his tenure as spokesman was the 2023 release of a 10-year rye with his name on it, and a hefty price tag. I remember that coming out, but wasn’t moved to plunk down the cash. My only experience with Woody Creek at that point had been their potato vodka, which is excellent.
But what a nice way to be introduced to their whiskey, courtesy of a surprise gift from a good friend, who himself picked up the bottle unplanned due to a coincidence of timing with Macy, at Total Wine & More of all places.
So here we are, five days after uncorking and three pours into the bottle. These brief notes were taken using both a Canadian and traditional Glencairn.
COLOR – soft amber-oranges
NOSE – fresh and dried long-stem grasses, bright rye spice, sweet crystalizing honey, lemon zest, vanilla sauce, candied ginger, waffles
TASTE – creamy texture, with the rye spice and dry grass notes nicely balanced by vanilla and caramel, now also a touch of smooth oak
FINISH – vanilla, caramel, rye spice, candied ginger, smooth oak
OVERALL – both gentle and confident, rustic and refined
The grassiness reminds me of many past craft rye experiences, only we’re far beyond the early days of craft rye whiskey here. There are no sharp edges on this rye. Everything is well rounded, well balanced, with a sense of elegance around a rustic quality.
This whiskey conjures images of wood cabins in mountain fields. There’s a freshness to it, grounded by a solid earthiness. The sweeter caramel and vanilla notes add complexity to the drier grass, spice, and oak notes. The lemon zest and candied ginger make a kind of bridge between the dry and sweet.
This is a calming, bucolic rye. And like I said it also contributed well to that Red Hook cocktail. The rye whiskey’s own blend of sweet and spicy notes paired well with the Spanish red vermouth and Japanese Scarlet Apertivo that I used, with the Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur nudging them all together sweetly. The choice of blood orange for the zest garnish also paired well with the combined ingredients, offering a darker orange note than standard naval oranges do.
I have a feeling I’ve got more Red Hook cocktails in my future. But I’ll also enjoy this rye neat, especially in my backyard. The garden air is rich with lingering autumnal mulch, damp soil and grasses, blossoming clover and lemon flowers. This Woody Creek Rye makes a perfect accompaniment as San Francisco’s version of winter gradually crawls out of its overcast cave toward sunny spring.
Cheers!
The Right Spirit 